Hoisting apparatus



Aug. 21, 1951 F, L 00K 2,564,801

HO ISTING APPARATUS Filed Sept. l2, 1947 A rmancx Patented Aug. 21, 1951Application september 12, 1947, serial No. 7'73-,68'2 In AustraliaOctober 16, 1946 l13 Claims. l

This invention relates to hoisting apparatus, particularly anchorraising and hoisting mechanism for marine craft, such as motor boats,launches and the like.

The Operation of moving an anchor inboard onto the deck of a smallvessel after same has been raised clear of the water is generallydiflicult and inconvenient, and the object of the present invention isto provide simple, effective and convenient means for this purpose;

Accordingly the invention resides briefly inv apparatus comprising ahoisting arm secured to and extending outwardly from a rotatable member.means at the outer end of said arm for supporting an anchor chainv orcable, and means operable to impart angular movements tc said rotatablemember, said rotatable member having its axis inclined at substantialangles to both the vertical and horizontal planes whereby as saidrotatable member together with said armv is turned through an angle upto180, the free end of said arm is raised or lowered and is simultaneouslymoved rearwardly or forwardly with 1re--` spect to the inner end`thereof.

Preferably the said. hoisting arm is disposed substantially horizontallywhen the free end thereof occupies its lowermost position, and isdisposed at a small angle to the vertical plane when said free endoccupies its uppermost posie tion, the axis of the rotatable member forthis l purpose being inclined at an angle of somewhat more than 45 tothe horizontal plane.

More particularly the said rotatable member is preferably arrangedsomewhat rearwardly of the bow of the vessel with the axis thereofinclining upwardly and forwardly at an angle of say about 50 to thehorizontal plane; and said hoisting arm is secured: to said rotatablemema ber so that it extendsl outwardly therefromfwithian angle of about50 between it-'and the upward extension of the inclined axis. Thus whentheY saldiv arm projects forwardly, i. e. towards the bows', it isdisposedv substantiallyV horizontally, while when sameV is turnedthroughV an angle of 180' it inclines upwardlyY and rearwardly at anangle of about to thevertical plane;

Preferably the anchor chain oi cable extends outwardly from drivingmeans rotatably' supported on the rotatable member and passes over' aroller guide at the free end ofthe arm; `l="refe`rably the saidrotatable member is hollow', whered by the chain'may pass downwardlytherethr'ouglfi'y to achain locker. Y l Y v Manually or power operatedmeansar'e profl vided for actuatingsaidirotatable driving means andalsol for rotating s'aid inclined member and arm thereon.

Means are also provided for locking the free end of the arm to` thebowsprit adjacent to but somewhat in advance of the bows or to any otherconvenient portion o f the vessel whensaid arm occupies its aforesaidhorizontal forwardly extending position.

Other features of the invention are hereinafter described. For a moreparticular description of preferred forms of the invention referencewill be made to the accompanying drawings in which: l

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation and partly in section of thehoisting apparatus mounted on the forwardV portion of the deck of asmall vessel.- 1 Figure 2 is a View in sectional plan and' is taken onthe line 2-2 of Figure 1. v

Figures 3 and 4 are sectional views taken on the lines 3--3 and 4; 4respectively in Figure l.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view in plan'showing' the pathl of movementof the outer Vend of the hoisting arm relatively to the bows of thevesseL. and

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 1- and shows a modification. c Y ln l The apparatus'shown inFigures 1Vy and 2 comprises a tubular bearingI0 provided with a base plate II by rwhich it is secured centrally tothe central portionV of the deck I2 of avessel somewhat rearwardly ofthe bows I3 thereof,A the axisof said tubular bearing I0 being inclinedYupwardly and forwardly at an angle of about 50 to the horizontal plane.The upper end of the bear'- ing propects above'the ,deelrlevelgwhile thelower end thereof extends into a chainlocker below the deck.

A hollow spindle Iltis rotativel'y mounted in the inclined bearing I0and projects at its opposite ends therefrom,` the upper endV off saidspindle being formed witha collar I4" which serves as an element ofa'thrusrrbearing.U A relatively large bracket IE is detachably securedto the upper end of the spindle and the base thereof is formed with ahole which registers with the central passage in the hollow spindle |41yThe projecting lower end of the spindle Illy is fitted with a gear wheelI6which is' engaged by a pinion I1 connected' by worm and worm wheelreductiong'earing |8to an electric motor I9 suitav ably Supportedbelowthe" deck. the saidV gearing being accommodated' in a' housing Il`secured' to the xed bearing' IllA Th-Usby' operation of the (motor,which is controlled by a conveniently together with the bracket I5, isturned about its axis.

A straight hoisting arm 2I is secured rigidly at its inner end to alower portion of the bracket I and extends outwardly therefrom at anangle of about 50 to the upward extension of the upwardly and forwardlyinclined axis of the hollow spindle I4. The free end of the arm is alsopreferably connected by a tie rod 22 to an upper portion of the saidbracket, as shown.

Thus when the hoisting arm 2l projects forwardly from the spindle I4along the centerline 0f the vessel, it is disposed horizontally as shownin full lines in Figure 1, and same is of such length that its free endthen projects somewhat beyond the bows I3 and rests close to butrearwardly of its free end on a suitable support at or about the stem ofthe vessel.

If, now the inclined spindle I4 is turned through an angle of 180, itwill be apparent that the free end'of 'the hoisting arm'is moved in asemi-circular path 23, the plane ofl which inclines upwardly andrearwardly at an angle of about 40 to the horizontal plane, such freeend being thus swung outwardly and rearwardly to one side of the vessel,and then inwardly and rearwardly, and at the same time is progressivelyraised. In its final position, therefore, the said arm extends upwardlyand rearwardly at an angle of only to the vertical plane, as shown inbroken lines in Figure l.

The said free end of the hoisting arm is fitted with a flanged roller 24over which the anchorchain 25 passes, and the length of the arm is suchthat when same is disposed in its last mentioned approximately verticalposition, the height of the said roller above the deck is somewhatgreater than the length of the anchor 26.

If desired, the said roller 24 may be attached to the arm 2l by aswivelling holder (not shown) which is movable angularly about the Vaxisof the arm so that the axis of the roller will be maintained horizontalby the weight of the anchor as the arm is moved angularly as abovedescribed.

The anchor-chain 25 extends inwardly along the hoisting arm from theroller 24 and passes below a guide roller 35 rotatively supported on theinner end portion of said arm and then ex-` tends partly around achain-wheel 21 from which it passes downwards through the hollowinclined spindle IIJ into the chain locker.

The chain wheel 21 is secured to a transverse spindle 3l rotativelysupported in bearings in the bracket I5, said spindle being connected bytoothed reduction gearing 28 and chain and sprocket gearing 29 to anelectric motor 30 mounted on the said bracket.

The said gearing and the motor 30 are suitably encased to preventingress of water and the conductors for said motor preferably extenddownwardly through the hollow spindle I4 and outwardly through a radialhole somewhat above the lower end thereof and from which they are led toa source of power and a conveniently located reversing switch.

The chain wheel 21 is also rigidly tted with a ratchet wheel 36 which isengageable' by a pivoted pawl (not shown) to prevent retrogrademovements, said pawl being manually releasable when required. Thus thechain is firmly held by the chain wheel when the anchor is dropped andthe vessel is pulling thereon.

Accordingly, by operation -of the motor 30 the chain 25 may be taken inor payed-out to raise or lower the anchor. In the event of'v failure ofthe motor 30 or of the power supply therefor, the chain-wheel 21 may beturned by means of a hand-crank 50 which is attachable to a spindle 5Iprovided with a pinion 52 in constant mesh with the gear wheel on thespindle 3I, the outer end of the crank spindle being normally covered bya detachable cap as shown in Figure 3. Preferably a rope drum 33 forwarping and other like purposes is secured to one end of the spindle 3|of the chain wheel 21.

If desired, the chain wheel 21 may be connected to the spindle 3I by afree wheel device (not shown) which permits said chain-wheel to turnfreely thereon in one direction. Alternatively both the chain wheel 21and the drum 33 may be rotatively mounted on the spindle and provided attheir adjacent ends with dog clutch teeth for alternative engagementwith an intermediately disposed dog clutch member slidably butnonrotatively mounted on the spindle.

In use the anchor 26 is dropped and raised,

while the hoisting arm 2I occupies its forwardlyv extending horizontalposition (shown in full lines in Figure 1 at which ,time the free endportion of said arm is suitably secured by a spring actuated pivotedlocking arm or other means, such as a pin 4ll,vtothe bowsprit or othersuitable support 4I adjacent the bow of the vessel. Preferably a pivotedlocking arm (not shown) is employed for this purpose whereby same may bereleased from remote position by a pull cord.

If desired, the support 4I may be extended on one or both sides of thebows and arranged in the oblique plane of movement of the coactingportion of the arm 2|, as indicated in Figure 5.

When the anchor is fully raised with `the arm in such horizontalforwardly extending position, its upper end is disposed just below theroller 24 at the free end thereof. then be moved inboard onto the deckof the vessel and behind the base I I of the hoisting apparatus bystarting the motor I9 to cause the inclined spindle I4 together with thesaid hoisting arm to be turned through an angle of `about at the end ofwhich movement the-said arm extends upwardly and rearwardly at a smallangle to the vertical plane, as shown in broken lines in Figure 1.

Thus the anchor is first swung outwardly and rearwardly from the bows.and then inwardly and rearwardly and is progressively raised untilfinally it is located immediately behind the base of the device andsomewhat above the deck, the path of such movement when viewed in planbeing shown in Figure 5.

The anchor-chain 25 is then payed out to drop the anchor onto the deckor through a hatch into a suitable space therebelow, the arm being thenreturned to its normal horizontal forward position. For example thechain may be payed out until the lower end of the anchor 26 rests on thedeck after which the hoisting' arm may be moved forwardly to some extentwhereby it swings outwardly, forwardly and downwardly to lay the anchoron the deck at the corresponding side of the base.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that it is notessential that the hoisting arm be capable of rotation through an angleof 180, as movement through a somewhat smaller angle will suiice for theperformance of the described operations. However, it is preferred` thatthe said arm be capable of rotation through approximately 360 so thattheY anchor may.

The anchor may dropped on either the port or starboard side. of

the vessel as required.

Preferably the control switches for the motors I9 and 30 are ofwatertight construction and adapted for foot operation and are locatedin any convenient positions, the hands of the operator thus being freeto enable him to hold on to the vessel when raising, lowering orswinging the anchor in a rough sea.

It will be evident that if desired the abovementioned electric motors I9and 3i) may be replaced by hydraulic ror othersuitable motors.

In lieu of arranging the chain-wheel 21, motor 30 therefor and anintermediate gearing on' the bracket I above the upper end of the hollowspindle I4, same may be arranged below the lower end ofk the saidspindle and within the chain locker. Thus the chain-wheel -21 may berotatively mounted on a fixed support below the deck, but in order toobviate twisting of the chain Within the spindle I4, said chain wheel ispreferably supported rotatively on a further bracket 45 secured to thelower end of the spindle I4, as shown somewhat diagrammatically inFigure 6. The bracket 45 also carries the driving motor and reductiongearing for the chain wheel.

When this lastmentioned construction is employed, a guide roller t6 forthe chain is mounted on the bracket I5 above the spindle Id, as shown,and the size of this bracket is considerably reduced.

The apparatus, therefore, is compact, and does not form an inconvenientobstruction on the forward part of the vessel, while moreover it issimple and convenient to operate whethermanually or by power, andobviates the difficulty, inconvenience and occasional danger involved inmanually lifting an anchor inboard in the commonV manner.

I claim:

l. Hoisting apparatus for purposes of the kind described comprising aninclined spindle supported for angular movements about its axis, ahoisting arm supported on and extending outwardly at an angle from saidinclined spindle,v means operable to impart angular movementsl to saidinclined spindle and said hoisting arm thereon whereby the free end ofthe latter is moved through an obliquel arcuate path, meansI on andadjacent to the free end of the hoisting arm for supporting and guidinga flexible member, rotatable means mounted on and adjacent the axis ofsaid inclined spindle and adapted for driving engagement with saidflexible member, and means operable to actuate said rotatable drivingmeans to take-in orfpay-out the said flexible member.

2. Hoisting apparatus for purposes of the kind descibed comprising aninclined tubular spindle supported for angular movements about its axis,a. hoisting arm supported on and extending outwardly at an angle fromsaid inclined spindle,l

means operable to impart angular movementsto said inclined spindle andvsaid hoisting arm thereon whereby the free end of the latter is movedthrough an oblique arcuate path, means on and adjacent to the free endof the hoisting arm for supporting and guiding a flexible member,rotatable means mounted, on and adjacent the axis of said inclinedspindle and adapted for driving engagement with said flexible member,said rotatable means being disposed above the upper end of the inclinedtubular spindle to'permit said flexible member to extend downwardlythrough` the latter, and means operable to. actuate saidy rotatabledriving means to take-in or pay-out the said flexible member.

3. Hoisting apparatus for purposes of the kind described comprising aninclined tubular spindle supported for angular movements about its axis.a hoisting arm supported on and extending outwardly at an angle fromsaid inclined spindle, means operable to impart angular movements tosaid inclined spindle and said hoisting arm thereon whereby the free endof the latter is moved through an oblique arcuate path, means on andadjacent to the free end of the hoisting arm for supporting and guidinga flexible member, rotatable means mounted on and adjacent the axis ofsaid inclined spindle and adapted for driving engagement with saidflexible member, said rotatable means being disposed below the inclinedspinidle whereby said ilexible member may pass upwardly through thelatter, guide means for said ilexible member mounted on and disposedabove said inclined spindle and adjacent the axis thereof, and meansoperable to actuate said rotatable driving means to take-in or pay-outthe said ilexible member. Y

4. Hoisting apparatus for purposes of the kinddescribed comprising aninclined spindle supported for angular movements about its axis, ahoisting arm supported on and extending outwardly at an angle from saidinclined spindle, means operable to impart angular movements to saidinclined spindle and said hoisting arm thereon whereby the free end ofthe latter is moved through an oblique arcuate path, means on andradjacent to the free end of the hoisting arm for supporting and guidinga flexible member, rotatable means mounted on and adjacent the axis ofsaid inclined spindle and adapted for driving engagement with saidilexible member, and power means operable to actuate said rotatabledriving means to take-in or pay-out the said flexible member, said powermeans being supported by said inclined spindle. Y

5. Hoisting apparatus for purposes of the kind described comprising anangularly movable tubular spindle, means supporting said spindle withits axis inclined at an angle in the vicinity of to the horizontal planefor angular movementsabout its axis, a hoisting arm supported on saidspindle and extending outwardly therefrom at an acute angle with theupward extension of said' inclined axis, means operable to impartangular movements to said inclined spindle and said hoisting arm thereonwhereby the free end of the latter is moved through an oblique arcuatepath, means on and disposed adjacent to the free end of the hoisting armfor supporting and guiding a flexible member, rotatable means arrangedadjacent the axis of said inclined spindle and adapted for drivingengagement with said flexible member, and means operable to actuate saidrotatable driving means to take-in or pay-out the said flexible member.

6. Hoisting apparatus for purposesof the kind". described comp-rising abearing vadapted to be secured to a support with its axis disposed at anangle approximately midway between the,l horizontal and vertical planes,a hollow spindle movable angular-ly in said bearing, a hoisting, armconnected to said spindle above the said bearing whereby said arm ismovable angularly'4 in unison with the spindle, said arm beingsubstantially straight andI disposed at an acute angle,- to the upwardextension of the axis of the spindie, gearing operatively connected withand operable to impart. angular movements. tof the:

spindle, means mounted on Vand vadjacent theV outer end of the hoistingarm for supporting and guiding a chain or other flexible member, drivingmeans rotatively carried by said spindle and arranged above the centralpassage thereof, and gearing operatively connected with and operable torotate said driving means to take-in or pay-out the said chain or otherflexible member.

'7. Hoisting apparatus for purposes of the kind described comprising abearing adapted to be secured to a support with its axis disposed at anangle approximately midway between the horizontal and vertical planes, ahollow spindle movable angularly in said bearing, a head member securedto the upper end of said spindle, a hoisting arm connected to said headmember whereby it is, movable angularly in unison with the spindle, saidarm being substantially straight and disposed at an acute angle to theupward extension of the` axis of the spindle, gearing operativelyconnected with and operable to impart angular movements to the spindle,means mounted on and adjacent the outer end of the hoisting arm forsupporting and guiding a chain or other flexible member, driving meansrotatively supported on said head member above the central passage insaid spindle, and gearing operatively connected with and operable torotate said driving means to take-in or pay-out the said chain 01 otherflexible member.

8. Hoisting apparatus for purposes of the kind described comprising abearing adapted to be secured to a support with its axis disposed at anangle approximately midway between the horizontal and vertical planes, ahollow spindle movable angularly in said bearing, a head member securedto the upper end of said spindle, a hoisting arm connected to said headmember whereby it is movable angularly in unison with the spindle, saidarm being substantially straight and disposed at an acute angle to theupward extension of the axis of the spindle, gearing operativelyconnected with and operable to impart angular movements to the spindle,means mounted on and adjacent the outer end of the hoisting arm forsupporting and guiding a chain or other flexible member, driving meansrotatively carried by said head member and arranged above the centralpassage in said spindle, power means supported on said head member and,gearing interposed between said power means and said driving meanswhereby the latter is operable to take-in or pay-out the said chain orother exible member.

9. Hoisting apparatus for purposes of the kind described comprising abearing adapted to be secured to a support at an angle approximatelymidway between the horizontal and vertical planes, a hollow spindlemovable angularly in said bearing, a hoisting arm connected to saidspindle above the said bearing whereby said arm is movable angularly inunison with the spindle, said arm being substantially straight anddisposed at an acute angle to the upward projection of the axis of thespindle such that said arm is substantially horizontal when same isdisposed in its lowermost position, gearing operatively connected withand operable to impart angular movements to the spindle, means mountedon and adjacent the outer end of the hoisting arm for supporting andguiding a chain or other flexible member, driving means rotativelycarried by said spindle and arranged above the central passage in saidspindle, gearing operatively connected with and operable to rotate saiddriving means to take-in or pay-out the said chain or other flexiblemember, and means spaced from said spindle to support the free endportion of said hoisting arm when the latter is disposed at or adjacentits lowermost position.

10. Hoisting apparatus for purposes of the kind described comprising abearing adapted to be secured to a support at an angle approximatelymidway between the horizontal and vertical planes, a hollow spindlemovable angularly in said bearing, a hoisting arm connected to saidspindle above the said bearing whereby said arm is movable angularly inunison with the spindle, said arm being substantially straight anddisposed at an acute angle to the upward projection of the axis of thespindle such that said arm is substantially horizontal when same isdisposed in its lowermost position, gearing operatively connected withand operable to impart angular movements to the spindle, means mountedon and adjacent the outer end of the hoisting arm for supporting andguiding a chain or other flexible member, driving means rotativelycarried by said spindle and arranged above the central passage in saidspindle, gearing operatively connected with and operable to rotate saiddriving means to take-in or pay-out the said chain or other flexiblemember, means spaced from said spindle to support the free end portionof said hoisting arm when the latter is disposed at or adjacent itslowermost position, and means operatively connected with and operable tolock said hoisting arm to said last mentioned supporting means.

11. Hoisting apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said lastmentionedsupporting means is of arcuate formation and is disposed in the plane ofrotation of said coacting free end portion of the hoisting arm.

l2. Hoisting apparatus for purposes of the kind described comprising abearing adapted to be secured to a support with its axis disposed at anangle approximately midway between the horizontal and vertical planes, ahollow spindle movable angularly in said bearing, a hoisting armarranged above said bearing and secured to said spindle whereby afiexible member may be arranged to pass upwardly through said spindleand outwardly along said arm, said arm being substantially straight anddisposed at an acute angle to the upward extension of the spindle axis,a bracket secured to the spindle below said bearing therefor, rotatabledriving means supported on said bracket for engagement with saidflexible member, means arranged above said bearing to guide saidflexible member, power means supported on said bracket and operable toactuate said rotatable driving means to take-in or pay-out said flexiblemember, and power means operable to impart angular movements to saidhollow spindle and hoisting arm 13. Hoisting apparatus for purposes ofthe kind described comprising a bearing adapted to be secured to asupport at an angle approximately midway between the horizontal andvertical planes, a hollow spindle movable angularly in said bearing, ahead bracket secured to the upper end of the spindle and disposed abovesaid bearing therefor, a hoisting arm connected to said head bracketwhereby said arm is movable angularly in unison with the spindle, saidarm being substantially straight and disposed at an acute angle to theupward projection of the axis of the spindle, gearing arranged belowsaid bearing and operable to impart angular movements to the spindle,means mounted on and adjacent the outer end of the hoisting arm forsupportingl and guiding a chain or other flexible member,

driving means rotatively carried by said head. 5 bracket and arrangedabove the central passage` in said spindle, gearing supported on saidhead bracket, said gearing being operable to rotate said driving meansto take-in or pay-out the said chain or other iiexible member, and awinding drum rotatively supported on said head bracket and operable bysaid lastmentioned gearing.

F. L. COOK.

1o f REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the leof this patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS

